Community Resources on Campus
CAUSE (Community and University Services for Education)
Established in 1967 by Mrs. Marjorie Daltry Rosenbaum, CAUSE has existed to identify and facilitate the implementation of cooperative programs and projects between Wesleyan University, the Middletown community and the public and private schools in the Middletown area. The focus of these programs has been on intellectual and cultural enrichment. Thousands of students have benefited over the years.
High School Humanities Program: Annually, about 100 high school students from local public (Middletown High School, Vinal Technical High School and Haddam Killingworth High School) and parochial schools (Mercy and Xavier) participate in lectures and discussion on a variety of liberal arts subjects led by Wesleyan faculty.
Art Show: Wesleyan's Zilkha Gallery showcases over 1,200 artworks of Middletown students in grades K-12 each spring. This annual exhibition, reflecting the art curriculum in Middletown Public Schools, draws hundreds of students and their families to campus.
Silent Sounds: To encourage young people to explore, enjoy, and create literary arts, CAUSE has collaborated with Wesleyan's Center for the Arts and the Middletown Public Schools for over ten years to host an annual writing competition. Students in Middletown Public Schools submit poetry and prose for juried evaluation, and winning entries (roughly 30 each year) are compiled into Silent Sounds, a printed publication.
For more information about CAUSE, please contact Cathy Lechowicz (clechowicz@wesleyan.edu) or Marco Gaylord (gaylordm@mpsct.org).
School Tours with Friends of the Davison Arts Center (FDAC)
Each fall and spring, volunteer FDAC docents offer tours of the exhibits at the Davison Arts Center (DAC), the Mansfield Freeman Center, Zilkha Gallery and other Wesleyan arts venues to about 500 4th grade students in the Middletown Public Schools. This is a very important part of the DAC's educational programs. Participating students also have an opportunity to visit the World Music Center and learn about as well as play with the renowned Javanese Gamelan. Contact Clare Rogan (crogan@wesleyan.edu) for more information.
College of East Asian Studies Outreach Program
Wesleyan's College of East Asian Studies has an established outreach program at the Mansfield Freeman Center (343 Washington Place) for local area students, K-12, to introduce them to various aspects of East Asian cultures through a range of hands-on activities on topics including writing and language, food, martial arts, and music. Special programs are also available for preschool groups. For imore information, please contact Jeanne McNeff (jmcneff@wesleyan.edu).
Other Campus Resources
Gallery and Garden at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies
Wesleyan Institute for Lifelong Learning
Olin Memorial Library and Science Library
Click here for an extensive list of resources available to the greater community.
To learn more about tutoring programs and other-student led volunteer initiatives, visit the Office of Community Service and Volunteerism (OCS) website.